10 things you may not know about breastfeeding
August is National Breastfeeding Month.
Published August 18, 2016 This content is archived.
I’m sure you have heard the saying “breast is best.” Well, it's true.
Liquid Gold
Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for the newborn. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life.
The earliest form of breast milk is colostrum, sometimes called liquid gold, because of its deep yellow color. Colostrum is present for the first couple of days after birth, is rich in nutrients and contains antibodies that protect the newborn from infection. Colostrum also kick-starts the newborn’s digestive system. Three to five days after birth, colostrum transforms to early breast milk and by day 7 to 10 to mature breast milk. All of this happens as the mother’s body responds to the changing needs of the growing and developing infant. Research suggests that breastfeeding has health benefits to the baby, including a lower incidence of childhood conditions such as asthma, obesity, ear infections, eczema and other conditions.
Breastfeeding also has benefits for the mother, including post-partum weight loss and lower incidence of breast and ovarian cancer and osteoporosis.
Did you already know this about breastfeeding? Here are 10 things you may not know.
10 THINGS ABOUT BREAST-FEEDING YOU MAY NOT KNOW:
1. Newborns are extremely nearsighted.
When the baby is breastfeeding the baby’s eye are about 12 inches from the mother’s eyes – the perfect distance to establish eye to eye contact and that special mother-baby bond.
2. A mother’s breast can detect a 1 degree change in a baby’s body temperature.
The mother’s body will heat up or cool down the baby as needed.
3. Breast milk has a variety of flavors.
The milk gets a slight flavor (indirectly) of whatever the mother is eating. Unlike formula, which always tastes the same, this variety of flavors makes introducing solid foods easier as the baby approaches his or her first birthday.
4. Breast milk is constantly changing to meet the baby’s needs.
During a feeding the initial milk is watery and bluish-white in color. As the feeding continues the milk gets thicker with a higher fat content. Also, the water content of breastmilk increases during periods of hot weather or when the baby is feverish to maintain hydration.
5. Unlike a bottle nipple with a single hole, breast milk sprays out of many openings on the mother’s nipple.
The exact number of openings varies mother to mother.
6. Breast size has nothing to do with the amount of milk produced.
Women with breast implants or prior breast reduction surgery can breastfeed.
7. A breastfed baby’s stools smell different than stools of formula-fed babies.
A breastfed baby’s stools (poop) doesn’t smell as pungent as the poop of formula-fed babies.
8. Left and right breasts often produce different amounts of milk.
About 75 percent of women produce more milk in their right breast.
9. Crushed cabbage leaves and moist tea bags are effective treatments for breast discomfort.
These are effective treatments for breast discomfort during the first week of breastfeeding.
10.Breast feeding is instinctual for the baby.
If a newly born baby is placed on its mother’s abdomen, the baby will slowly but methodically crawl up to the mother’s breast, seek out the nipple and begin sucking.
I hope you’ve learned something new about breastfeeding and will share it with a friend in observance of National Breastfeeding Month.
American Academy of Pediatrics (2012). Policy statement: Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics, 129(3), e827-e841. doi:10.1542/peds.2011-3552
By Deborah Raines, PhD, EdS, RN, ANEF, Associate Professor (University at Buffalo, School of Nursing)
